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1937–38 Boston Bruins season
The 1937–38 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 14th season in the NHL. It saw the return of Eddie Shore from a season ending cracked vertebrae injury in 1936–37. With the emergence of the "Kraut Line" of Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart, the Bruins finished first in the American Division and the league, winning their seventh Prince of Wales Trophy. The Bruins lost in the Semi-finals to the Toronto Maple Leafs 3 games to 0. Off-season After the death of Howie Morenz, a memorial game was held at the Montreal Forum on November 2, 1937 to benefit Morenz's family. 8,683 fans attended, contributing $11,447 to an eventual total of over $20,000. A team of NHL All Stars defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-5. The Bruins Tiny Thompson, Dit Clapper and Eddie Shore played for the All Star with Clapper scoring the All Stars first goal and Shore assisting on the last goal. Regular Season A sharp increase in scoring, balanced throughout the line-up (the Bruins had seven different players record double digit goal seasons) made the Bruins difficult to stop. For example, the 9-1 drubbing of the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 22, 1938 saw 8 different Bruins goal scorers. Less than 20 players were used this season as the line-up was stable with few injuries. Bill Cowley led the team in scoring again (he'd do so for 6 of 8 seasons) and was 6th in the league. The Bruins had the best goals against in the league lead by Eddie Shore and goalie Tiny Thompson who won their fourth Hart Memorial Trophy and Vezina Trophy respectively. Both were also First Team All-Stars. Shore was ably teamed with Jack Portland and Flash Hollett while Jack Crawford made his debut. Crawford would become a defensive stalwart for the Bruins for the next dozen years, easily identified by the helmet he wore. The Kraut Line makes its debut in the season opener against the Montreal Maroons and had an immediate impact. Milt Schmidt scored, assisted by Woody Dumart in a 4-2 win. The Bruins went on a tear and went undefeated in November 1937. After the death of Howie Morenz, Bruins Eddie Shore, Dit Clapper, Tiny Thompson played in the Howie Morenz Memorial Game on November 2, 1937. Milt Schmidt broke his jaw during the December 28, 1937 match versus the New York Rangers. He returned to action two games later wearing a jaw protector. The February 17, 1938 game versus the New York Rangers went to overtime (which was not sudden death) tied 1-1. After the Bruins Gord Pettinger scored at the 3:59 mark, Milt Schmidt took a pass from Flash Hollett, cut to the right of the Rangers net and beat Dave Kerr with a beautiful backhand goal to the top left corner (a video exists of this). The Rangers Bryan Hextall scored with 19 seconds left and the Bruins won 3-2. Final Standings Game Log Playoffs Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Boston Bruins 0 The Leafs and Bruins met for the fourth time in playoffs in the 1930's. The Leafs won the three previous series and would sweep the Bruins, though all three games were decided by one goal with two going into overtime. However, the Bruins would get their revenge the next year when it counted, defeating the Leafs in the 1938-39 finals. Game 1 was a close checking affair with the only goal scored by George Parsons at 1:31 of the second OT period. Turk Broda posted the shutout. Game 2 saw the Leafs go in front 1-0 on a second period goal by "Pep" Kelly until Charlie Sands tied it up at 7:37 of the third period. Gordie Drillon (last Leaf to lead the league in scoring) quickly responded and the Leafs won 2-1. Game 3 saw the teams trade goals with Bill Cowley scoring twice in the third period to send the game to overtime. Drillon scored at 10:04 of the first OT to win the series for the Leafs. Player Stats Regular Season ;Scoring ;Goaltending Playoffs ;Scoring ;Goaltending Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts Awards and Records * Prince of Wales Trophy: Boston Bruins * Hart Memorial Trophy: Eddie Shore (4th win) * Vezina Trophy: Tiny Thompson (4th win) * Art Ross, Coach, NHL Second Team All-Star * Tiny Thompson, Goaltender, NHL First Team All-Star * Eddie Shore, Defence, NHL First Team All-Star * Bill Cowley, Centre, NHL First Team All-Star Transactions *Art Jackson purchased from the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 23, 1937. *Sell Hooley Smith to the New York Americans for cash on November 5, 1937. *Trade Jack Beattie to the Detroit Red Wings for Gord Pettinger on December 19, 1937. *Trade Alex Motter to the Red Wings for Clarence Drouillard and cash on December 22, 1937. Trivia *Mel Hill becomes the first Bruins to wear a jersey number in the twenties, sporting #20 for the Bruins 1-0 win over the Montreal Maroons on November 16, 1937. *Along with Eddie Shore, #12 Flash Hollett plays the season wearing a helmet. *Bruins who recorded a Hat trick this season include: **Ray Getliffe during the 4-2 win over the Montreal Maroons on November 6, 1937. Gallery Howie_Morenz_Game.png|Shore, Clapper and Thompson at the Howie Morenz Memorial Game, November 2, 1937. 24Feb1938-Habs_Bruins.jpg|Thompson defends the net while #7 Weiland, #9 Goldsworthy assist against the Canadiens, February 24, 1938. Video A minute worth of footage from the February 20, 1938 game won 3-2 by the Bruins over the New York Rangers. Fascinating footage including the Kraut Line in action, Milt Schmidt getting into a scrap, Eddie Shore with an open ice hit and a goal by Dit Clapper, assisted by Gord Pettinger on the Rangers Dave Kerr which would tie the game 2-2 at the 5:02 mark of the 3rd period. Boston Bruins win the National Ice Hockey League by 3-2 against New York Ranger i...HD Stock Footage See Also *1937–38 NHL season References Category:Boston Bruins seasons Category:1937 in hockey Category:1938 in hockey